The Golden Maze
by cyrah
Summary: An evil power is rising in Tarilenea's country. She must overcome her fears and the obsticals of her new found powers to save her friends. FIRST FIC EVER. NOT MARY SUE, PLEASE R AND R!
1. A Meeting

A/N:  Hi everyone.  This is my first fic ever so please read and review!

Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the tamora pierce stuff that you see in my story

Chapter 1:  A Meeting  
  
Tarilenea sharpened her blade against the stone and sniffed the air. No horse smells yet; that was good. She had more time to prepare. She sheathed her knife in the leather belt around her waist and stood up, scuffing the marks of her toes in the dust out with her foot. Her curly brown hair flew behind her in the wind, and her freckles stood out against her pale skin in the summer afternoon light. 

  
Tarilenea had the Gift for Senses. Her five senses--that is, hearing, smelling, seeing, touch, and taste-- were accelerated to a supernatural point. She could see things 50 or 60 feet away, if she wanted to, as clearly as most humans would see something 10 feet away. She usually did not use her Gift for taste, because it became overwhelming. Her smelling Gift she used almost all of the time, and also her hearing. They were both very helpful in tracking and knowing ahead of time when something was near her. 

She had always been good at hide-and-seek as a child and she could never figure out why, until a Gift- Seeker had come to her house. The Gift-Seeker had tested her for a possible Gift, and had found that Tarilenea had the most unusual Gift of Senses. Tarilenea's parents had been surprised, but had immediately packed her off for Corus so that she could be trained in her newfound powers. That she was only 15 was of no concern to them; they wanted to do this quickly because of the political situation in Tortal. 

  
The present King Alan was good, and just. However, he had a third cousin named Deleterious who wanted nothing less than the throne. This was a known fact; ever since Deleterious had been a child he had coveted the throne and not made any secret about it. Wherever he could he upstaged Alan in festivities and even went so far once as to take his place at a banquet. Everyone at court soon became tired of Deleterious trying to rule behind Alan's back, and isolated him at his castle until he agreed to behave. 

He had been there for ten years so far and no good news had come; people were beginning to get worried. Because there were too many people standing in front of the throne, Deleterious had no chance of just killing them all off and becoming King. He would need to actually conquer King Alan's army in order to take the throne. 

Most people assumed that he would never muster the forces needed to accomplish this; Tarilenea's parents were of the few who believed that anything was possible and that they should, in fact, worry about Lord Deleterious's evil intentions. So they sent Tarilenea from their home in Carthak to Tortal, so that she could travel the Great Road South to Corus and find a suitable teacher. They strongly believed that Lord Deleterious would somehow manage to find an army; and when he did, they wanted to be fighting against him. Tarilenea was their way to fight.

  
Suddenly Tarilenea's ears pricked up; she heard hoof beats approaching and she could smell the tangy sweat odor of two horses running hard. She leapt behind a tree and stood pressed up against the crisp bark, her ears and nose working hard to identify the newcomer. The horses, breathing hard, galloped into the clearing and stopped, whinnying as the rider pulled hard to curb them. The boy on one of the horses got off expertly, swinging over and down smoothly like a cat. He sent the horses off with a push, so that they could go find water and food. They would return at his whistle. 

He stood and looked around, noting a few bent blades of grass and the rock on which a blade had been sharpened. He crept around the clearing, sniffing and listening carefully. A smile tugged at Tarilenea's lips, and she dug her fingers into the tree in suspense. A chip of bark cracked off at her touch, and floated gently into the grass at her feet. She gasped and looked down, and then up into the smiling face of her friend, Lark. They stared at each other for a moment and then hugged, yelling and pounding each other's backs. 

  
"Lark! How did you find me so fast!" whined Tarilenea.

  
Lark grinned good-naturedly. "'Twas only because of your clumsiness, m'lady Tarry!" He whooped and ducked as Tarilenea threw a punch. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him down on the ground with her. 

  
"I've told you a million times," said Tarilenea as Lark pulled his shirt back into the right place, "just call me Tarry! I'm not your lady anymore. Those days are over." She looked down at the grass, and her eyes clouded over as she was transported into her memories of the home she had left. Lark saw this, and waved his hand in front of her face hurriedly.

  
"Don't think about that anymore, m'lady. I've come to help you escape. I have good news for you. It seems that Lord Deleterious is making peace with King Alan! He sent a letter of submission to him, along with a small army of centaurs as compensation. He is holding a Conference of Sorcerers at his castle in the Grimhold Mountains in two weeks time. He has requested that you attend, as you have the Gift and are from a noble family." 

  
Lark held out a dirty piece of paper which had obviously been in his grimy jacket for a while. He wiped his nose on his sleeve as Tarilenea broke the official seal on the rolled-up parchment and read the letter over twice, slowly. 

  
Tarilenea finally rolled it back up, and tied it with a bit of string from her pocket. She sighed and sat a while in deep thought, her foot tapping a pattern on the ground restlessly. She did not trust Lord Deleterious at all. He had been a well-known enemy of Tortal for as long as she could remember--he had been the main reason her parents had sent her away from home to train to become a sorcerer. Her mother had spoken a few choice words to her before she left, about Lord Deleterious and his evil intentions.

  
"Tarilenea," her mother had explained softly while they were riding to the boat, "there are things you must know which I could not tell you earlier for fear of being heard. I am not sure that even our house is free from the spies Lord Deleterious has planted throughout Tortall. His plans are purely bad. He wants to rule Tortall, and he is the third cousin to the king. However, there are too many people between him and the throne. The only way for him to become king is to conquer King Alan's army." 

  
Tarilenea laughed. "How could he, mother? Tortall's army is invincible. We have so many sorcerers and soldiers, it would be impossible for a Lord, no matter how strong, to defeat the king."

  
Lady Lolana had looked pained at her daughter's carefree words. 

  
"Do not speak so freely, Lenea. It is not so hard as you might think to take over Tortall's common people if you had mostly magic on your side."

  
Here Tarilenea was stumped. "But how could he have more sorcerers working for him than the king? I thought that King Alan had almost all of the magic peoples in Tortall working under him."

  
"He does. But Lord Deleterious, if he finds a way to capture these sorcerers, might be able to force them to work for him. You must understand, if this ever happens, Tortall is surely his. For what chance does an army of even 10,000 have against over 100 sorcerers?" Lady Lolana closed her eyes. "Nothing."

  
Tarilenea bit her lip but said resolutely, "Don't worry, Mother. I will become a great sorcerer, and fight against Lord Deleterious! He will not win with me on the other side." She smiled, and Lady Lolana nodded, her gray eyes squinted with worry. She turned and grasped Tarilenea's arm, her face expressive and worried. 

  
"Please be careful my daughter, but work hard so that you will help defeat this evil man and bring honor to our family." She smiled then, and patted Tarilenea's cheek gently. "Just remember to listen more than you speak, and not to question orders. I love you, Tarilenea. Go in health." 

  
Tarilenea came back to reality with a thump as Lark hit her hard on the back. She was about to cry out angrily and hit him back when she saw the urgent look on his face, his eyes wide and a finger held up against his lips. She closed her eyes and used her Gift to listen and smell. There was a horse coming, no she decided quickly, five or more at least, and they had been running hard because the horse's breathing was short and irregular. She frowned at Lark, indicating that she did not know who the riders where. They smelled different--more like leather and perfume than the simple homespun cloth and soap she was used to. The two quickly smoothed their tracks out of the dirt and scurried up the nearest tree, careful not to bend any grass or leave marks on the ground. From this tree Tarilenea and Lark had a bird's eye view of the clearing in the woods, and from this point they saw seven riders approach.

A/N:  So what do you think?  Review and tell me!


	2. chp2 capture

Yey!  New chappie!  Enjoy!

Chapter 2:  The Evil Plan

  
The seven men were dressed well, and their horses were top-quality. Tarilenea, who loved horses, had to stop herself from climbing down and touching their silky coats. She looked at Lark, and raised her eyebrows. These men were either nobles or very wealthy merchants--she could smell their perfumed soap from the branches of the tree. Lark wrinkled his nose and grinned. Then he looked at her with wide eyes. 

  
"Sneeze!" he whispered fiercely. Tarilenea looked at him angrily. 

  
"No!" 

  
Lark held his hand over his mouth and closed his eyes, but a small sneeze could still be heard. The men instantly sat up straight and very still, listening. Tarilenea and Lark hugged the branches holding their breath, scarcely moving. Then the first rider relaxed, and so did the men behind him.

  
"Ok," he said in a gruff voice to his followers, "I think this place is clear to camp in tonight. Then tomorrow we can travel the Great Road South to Corus, where we will meet our Lord. On the way we can carry out more of our lord's plans for the--" here the big man chuckled, "_goodwill _of Tortall."

  
Tarilenea and Lark glanced at each other quizzically as the man continued briskly, "Tamir, you ride ahead and find a good place to set another trap. Set up a fire but do not disturb this place any more than needed. We might have to leave quickly without covering our tracks."

  
The men dismounted and tended to their horses, then built a small fire and ate some provisions. While Tarilenea and Lark watched sleepily, the men unrolled sleeping bags and lay down next to the dying embers. They all soon began to snore softly except for the sentry, who stood guard, half-sleeping, at the fire. Tarilenea gave Lark an apple and he ate it thankfully, careful not to drip juice on the men below them. 

  
Tarilenea whispered in his ear, "When I give the signal, we begin climbing down. _Quietly!_" Lark nodded, and finished his apple. He put it in his pocket and put his arms around the trunk of the tree, edging downwards slowly. Tarilenea put her pack on her back and started descending after him, careful not to break off chips of bark which would give them away. 

  
When Tarilenea was halfway down the tree and beginning to feel confident that she and Lark would get away all right, she heard a muffled yell. Looking down, she gasped. A man had his hand over Lark's mouth and was holding him down!

  
********************

  
Tarilenea recognized the man who had captured Lark as Tamir, the man who had been sent out to scout a new place to "set another trap." She watched in shock as Lark was dragged away, his eyes big and scared in the firelight. Tarilenea's fingers clutched at the tree angrily as she saw the man tie Lark's hands behind his back and tap the sentry on the shoulder. Together they gagged Lark and sat him down. Then Tamir got the leader of the men up, and they conversed quietly, while shooting glances in Lark's direction. Lark didn't look at Tarilenea; he knew that the sentry was monitoring his every move. Instead he sat, eyes cast on the ground, miserable and quiet. 

  
Tarilenea felt tears under her eyelids, and bit her lip angrily, for there was nothing she could do. She silently tried to make herself as comfortable as possible so she could stay up to make sure they didn't do anything bad to Lark. She took her dagger out of her pocket and held it tightly in her hand. She had never hurt anyone before, but if they were going to threaten her best friend then they would have to deal with her dagger. 

  
She drowsily kept an all-night vigil as the sentry watched Lark. When she saw the sun coming up over the mountains, the men started to get up. One by one they saw the new captive, but didn't show any real interest in him. They went about their duties, and during breakfast their captain made a short speech.

  
"Tamir found this boy last night as he was coming back from scouting. We do not know who he is, but we will bring him to our Lord for questioning. He might be a spy for the king; whatever he is, our Lord will get the truth out of him." 

  
At this remark there were scattered snickers, and Lark glanced uneasily at the men. The leader continued as if he had not heard, this time addressing Lark.

  
"My name is Nigel, and I am the leader of this company. You will march when we tell you to and eat when we do. There are not many extra rations though, so you will have to make do with an empty stomach until we get to Corus." 

  
Nigel turned to his men, shouting "Mount up! We start riding now! Tamir tells me he found a good place in a small town up ahead. We will stop there to do our work. Remember," he added, fixing a pin to his jacket which showed that he belonged to King Alan's army, "we are the King's soldiers riding back from the Great Southern Desert." He nodded to a man wearing a cloak, who Tarilenea had noticed earlier as looking very old and weathered to be traveling in this band of young men. "Sebastien, get ready and do not use your Gift. You will need it soon. Tamir, put the boy on my horse. He will ride with me." 

  
The men mounted their horses after putting out the fire with dirt and brushing their tracks out with a branch. Tarilenea thanked the Gods that it was summer; they could not see her in the leafy foliage of the tree. After she saw the last rider gallop off, she shimmied down to the ground and ran into the center of the clearing, whistling in the bird call which her horses recognized. After a few minutes she heard them thundering towards her, ungroomed and sweaty but serviceable. She smiled at them.

  
"Moonshine and Streak, we have work to do." 

  
She rubbed some dirt onto her clean face, mussed her hair and donned one of her more grungy cloaks which she had brought along in case she needed a disguise. She also gathered a small basket of mushrooms which were growing under some of the trees. If Nigel's band captured her, she could pretend to be a peasant girl riding back to her village. 

  
Tarilenea grabbed Moonshine's mane and swung herself over the horse's back, whistling as she did so. The girl and the two horses flew out of the clearing, their manes flying back in the wind and her eyes staring level and strong at the horizon.

A/N:  Please Review!


	3. chp3 typho

Hey guys! Sry bout the Os, it got scrwed upÉ.hmmm im new to this fanfic thing

Thanx for the reviews! Im putting up a new chappie now an ill try update soon

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Chapter 4

Typho

Tarilenea rode from Port Diminitus on the Great Inland Sea to the start of the Great Road South, to the village of Typho. Moonshine and Streak ran swift and fast, staying about a mile behind NigelÕs band the whole time. Tarilenea followed the men by their tracks, which they never bothered to cover up. Once or twice she saw a halfhearted sweep with a branch at the hoof prints, but it seemed that the person in charge of clearing tracks had given up; after the first few miles the prints were plain and clear in the ground, and easy to follow. 

The weather was good; clear, sunny, a light mist in the mornings. Tarilenea gathered fresh water by laying a cup out at night and drinking the dew in the morning. She was running out of food though; she had about two decent sized meals left and then she would have to survive on plants she found in the woods. On the night of her last meal, she followed the tracks into a village of about 300 people. 

She learned later that it was called Typho. It made sense that NigelÕs company had stopped here; it had a nice inn called the White Horse and it had a school for sorcerers. Tarilenea thought hard while riding to the inn. She had to warn the magic students that Nigel and his men would try to capture them, but how could she? Tall for fifteen, but still a girl. Her freckled round cheeks and glossy curls did not exactly make for a formidable enemy. They would laugh at her. Try as she may, she could not think of another suitable idea.

She sighed as she was let into the White HorseÕs stable, flipped the stable boy a coin, and walked inside the oak doors. Inside were Nigel and the six other men, Lark nowhere to be seen. Tarilenea gulped and searched frantically for Lark, her supersensitive eyes adjusting to the dark quickly and roving about the candlelit room, finally stopping on a bundle in the corner, behind a chair. It squirmed, and Tamir walked over from the front desk nonchalantly, then nudged the bundle sharply with the toe of his boot. Tarilenea bit her lip, longing to challenge him to a good fight. She held her tongue, barely, but resolved to get Tamir later. She put her hood over her face, and attempted to tuck most of her curls behind her ears. She did not want Nigel to see her any more than he needed to. 

She stood to the side as they conversed with the woman behind the counter, and observed. Nigel was short, but very muscular. One of his arms was the size of her upper leg. She saw a bulge at his ankle, and guessed that it was a knife. She counted three other places on his body where she suspected a weapon was concealed, not counting the ones he would have in his vest and on his belt. His cropped hair was a musty brown, and he had a large mustache. 

Tarilenea then turned her eyes on the old man beside Nigel, who seemed to be sleeping standing up. She had heard his name before--Sebastien. His cloak was old and weather-worn, his cane more of a stick. She looked closely, and noted that there were inscriptions all over the piece of wood. She also saw that while his eyes appeared closed, they were really open--and watching her! She turned quickly, almost upsetting a plant in the corner. She took short deep breaths to calm herself; he had given her a shock. When she turned around again they were filing up the narrow creaky stairs to the bedrooms, Tamir carrying the kicking bag. 

Adding a smile to her face and putting a bounce in her step, Tarilenea approached the counter. She quickly negotiated a room for one night, paid, and tripped upstairs. She was too tired to take a bath; she pulled her shoes off sluggishly and crept under the sheets. As soon as her face hit the pillow she started snoring softly. 

***********************

Morning sunlight hit TarileneaÕs eyes, making her wince and roll over. She blinked hard and sat up slowly, taking in her surroundings. The curtains were open, and bright light was pouring in. Had she overslept? 

She threw on a pair of boyÕs breeches and a work shirt, putting her hair up under a cap so that from a distance, one might mistake her for a boy. She gathered her things hurriedly in her bag and ran down the small stairway, tumbling into the main hall. At the front desk she learned that Nigel and his men had left about ten minutes ago. She paid quickly for a slice of bread with meat and ran to the stables, intending to take her horses and follow as fast as she could. However, when she got there she found that there was trouble she had to deal with.

Walking in through the heavy oak doors, Tarilenea saw six men mounted on horses, Tamir holding a figure in a cloak to his chest. She looked around; Nigel and the stable boy were in the other corner, arguing. His muscled arms seemed to glare at her in the sparse light. She couldnÕt take on seven grown men. Instead, she turned her attention to listening in on the conversation between Nigel and the stable boy. They were standing right next to Moonshine and Streak, so Tarilenea had nothing to do but sit down on the hay and listen.

ÒIÕm telling you, these horses are mine!Ó Nigel whispered fiercely. ÒI brought them with me and paid you to take them. See that man there?Ó He pointed to Lark.

ÒHe is riding double because you wonÕt let us take this horse. IÕm paying you extra now, so donÕt make trouble.Ó Nigel tried to hand the stable boy some money.

ÒBut sir!Ó the stable boy said, obviously confused. ÒA young woman dropped these two horses off last night. I am sorry sir, but you will have to get her down here to tell me that these horses are really yours.Ó

Nigel smiled, and turned to the old man Sebastien.

ÒWell, if thatÕs how itÕs gonna be, thatÕs how itÕs gonna be. GÕnight, boy. See you at the Dark Gates!Ó Nigel snapped his fingers, and Sebastien glided off his horse in the direction of the stable boy, holding his walking stick tightly and muttering. Tarilenea realized with a gasp that this man was a wizard, and powerful too--the stone at the top of his stick was glowing brilliantly, lighting up the whole barn. The horses started stamping their feet and shaking their heads, knowing that something was wrong. The stable boy backed into a corner, shaking his head and holding out his hands.

ÒPlease sir, donÕt hurt me! IÕm just a poor boy who needs a job!Ó

As the menacing light edged closer, he put up his hands and cried out, ÒTake the horses! TheyÕre yours! Just take them and leave me alone!Ó

He crumpled into a heap on the hay, his small body quivering. Nigel grinned at the old man and started to open the lock on MoonshineÕs door, when a small person knocked into him, slamming him against the door and making him jam his finger in the lock. He yelled out in pain, and kicked out behind him. Tarilenea caught his shoe in her hand and twisted it with ease, while opening MoonshineÕs door with the other. She was about to smash his face against the hard wood when she saw Sebastien turn towards her with his glowing stick and heard Tamir come charging at her, so she decided that it was time to leave.

She sidestepped Tamir, sending him bowling into Nigel. It seemed to Tarilenea as she ducked under SebastienÕs horse that they had knocked each other out. She looked up at the barnÕs ceiling, which was fortunately very high. While looking though, she neglected to watch out for the other four men, who were at the moment dismounting and running towards her. She whistled, hard.

The men stopped in their tracks, their hands over their ears. The light on SebastienÕs stick even wavered, briefly. There was a second where everything stood still, and then Tarilenea looked up to see Moonshine and Streak jump over the stable doors, their muscles rippling under their coats and the doors far beneath them. They landed with a delicate thud against the soft dirt, and thundered past Tarilenea and the men. When they had gone, the men looked down where they thought Tarilenea was, hoping to pounce on her. But she was gone. They cursed and looked around wildly, anxious that she might be creeping up behind them. Sebastien sat on his horse with a thin finger under his chin, thinking. His large eyes, lashless under fine white eyebrows, were closed. He was feeling TarileneaÕs presence. Nigel interrupted this activity, muttering,

ÒOw! Where is that...that...Ó he sputtered here, emotion overtaking him, ÒTHING. I want it back now! I will rip it apart! Sebastien!Ó Sebastien looked up calmly, taking in the manÕs tomatoe-red face, swollen thumb, and ripped pants. 

ÒYes, Nigel?Ó he asked in a placid tone. His voice was very high for a man.

ÒSense where that abominable thing is! I want you to find it! And when you do, I want you to send a spell after it--kill it! Do this immediately!Ó

ÒAs you please.Ó

**************************

At the moment, Tarilenea was riding on MoonshineÕs side. The wind whipped her hair as she glanced back over her shoulder quickly. There was no sign of anyone following her, but she could feel someone trying to enter her mind. She closed her eyes and pursed her lips, trying hard to keep the sense out of her head. It was strong; it was bright orange magic and it was trying to force down her shields. It wanted to know who she was; it wanted to know where she was going. Then, when it found that it could not get any information out of her, it withdrew quietly. 

TarileneaÕs hold on MoonshineÕs mane increased and she swung up onto the horseÕs back as they clattered through the small streets of Typho. She reigned Moonshine in suddenly and whistled a stop signal to Streak. She looked around her. The dirt road was isolated; it was too early in the morning for any activity. Tarilenea looked up and down the lane at the tiny shops on the side, searching for one. She could not find it, though she read all the names carefully. 

Far down the street, she saw a puff of blue smoke come out of a chimney. This must be the school for magic. Smiling slightly, she nudged the horses into a slow trot towards the house. Suddenly, a bolt of pain hit her brain. It felt like her head exploded and came back together again in one second. Tarilenea yelped and slumped down on the horse, gritting her teeth and breathing heavily. She opened her eyes, but all she saw was a fuzzy blue dot in front of everything. She felt a cold sweat breaking out all over her skin, and felt terribly dizzy. She needed to lie down and sleep so that her Gift could really take over, or she would fall off Moonshine. 

Tarilenea kicked Moonshine gently with the toe of her boot, and the horse walked slowly down the street. Each time a hoof hit a cobblestone, Tarilenea winced. When she was badly hurt her gift of Senses was uncontrollable; she could not shut out some of the noise. So every smell, every sound, every touch, was aggravated to an almost unbearable point. 

She opened her eyes blearily, wondering why Moonshine had suddenly stopped. She saw through the blue haze a door. Groggily, she tried to sit up. She slumped down again. There was something at the back of her mind, something she could not place--oh yes! It was the feeling she had felt before this had happened, of something trying to feel her mind. 

This time the force was not so gentle. It was strong and angry, forcing its way into her head and feeling around with no soft hand. Tarilenea cried out and the door creaked open. She gasped as another bolt hit her head. This time she blacked out. 

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cliffie lol! Review please its my first fanfic I need to know whut im doing wrong an stuff

thanx!


	4. chap4 Magic School

Disclaimer:  None of the Tamora Pierce stuff that appears in my fic is mine.  

Chapter 5:  Magic School

  
Tarilenea opened her eyes. She still could not manage to see anything except blue. Her Gift was still working to repair her head, so her gift of Sense was impossible to restrain. She smelled the fierce scent of a spicy hot drink, and the lavender from the pillow on which her head was resting. She heard soft sounds coming from a place to her right--dishes being washed and dried. That was the kitchen, then. 

  
"Here you are," said a loud voice to her left.

  
Tarilenea smelled the spicy drink coming close to her nose.

  
"Don't shout at me," she murmured as she opened her mouth to drink.

  
"I'm not!" said the voice indignantly. "Here's a bit of bread, too. Nice and hot from the oven, a better loaf if'n I do say so meself. Try some after you have 'ta drink, you'll see." 

  
Tarilenea sipped the drink. holding her nose with her left hand so that the smell would not overwhelm her. It rushed down her throat in a hot, peppery bubble. She coughed and opened her eyes wide, spitting a little into the face of the loud voice. 

  
A woman wiped her eyes calmly with a white napkin. She was plump and of middle-age, a common serving person. Her face was doughy and thick, and her hair hung around her head in sparse, white-blonde curls. The rest of it was hidden in a small white cap. 

  
"So you can see now, then?" asked the woman placidly. 

  
Tarilenea gaped at her, nodding slowly. Then she realized that things were still blue--she was only seeing out of one eye. The other still had the blue fuzz in front of it. 

  
"I can see out of one eye," Tarilenea said, "but the other one is yet affected by blue. Can you cure that also?"

  
The woman looked complexed. "Hmm. I dun't know, my drink almost 'elps every'ting, swear to Mithros. You say you still cen't see out'r one eye? T'is unheard of, t'is!" 

  
She seemed quite offended that her concoction hadn't completely worked for Tarilenea. Tarilenea bit her lip, worried that the woman would be mad at her. But instead she smiled, patting Tarilenea on the hand.

  
"Dun't you worry none now, li'l one. The Lady will be in here in two ticks, she's just fin'shin up a spell. She was 'ta one done tol' me to give you that drink, she'll be wantin' to know what went wrong too, dun't you know."  
She bustled off, leaving Tarilenea with a hot buttery scone and the rest of the drink. 

  
A few minutes later she came back followed by a woman handsomely dressed, in velvet and gold trim. The woman had smooth brown skin, chocolate eyes and large red lips. Her hair was put up hastily into a brown bun at the nape of her neck, and she wore a lot of jewelry. Tarilenea noticed one piece in particular; a pendant on which a blue stone hung. It was small but very bright, and it captured Tarilenea's eye immediately. This did not escape the woman's attention. 

  
"So you like my Pendant of Defense then, do you?" the woman asked, her brown eyes smiling. Tarilenea smiled back.

  
"It is quite captivating. May I take a closer look at it?" The woman nodded and Tarilenea grasped the stone, holding it up to her face. She looked through it with her good eye and gasped--some things were highlighted in bright gold-yellow. She was outlined in yellow, and the serving-woman's eye was too. The woman with brown eyes was a burst of yellow, especially the many pendants she wore around her neck. Tarilenea then looked through the stone with her eye which only saw blue, and she could see that everything non-magic was yellow. 

  
Tarilenea let go off the stone and it dropped back onto the woman's neck.

  
"I am Lady Alden, and this is Nanny. She is head cook of this place, formally named Alden's School for Magic. But the student's here call it simply 'the Magic School."

  
"I am Tarilenea Isabelle of Carthak," grinned Tarilenea. "Your stone is very interesting."

  
Lady Alden smiled and delicately lifted the Pendant of Defense from her neck. 

  
"You may have this Pendant. I have many others; my students all receive one when they come here. You also look like you need as much help as you can get. Who set the Releasing Spell on you?"

  
Tarilenea was dumbfounded at the woman's generosity and knowledge of magic. "The what?"

  
Lady Alden was patient. 

  
"It is a spell which can be sent from afar. The stronger the person is who is making it, the farther it can go. Depending on the strength of the person and the distance, it can inflict damage upon the recipient ranging from a slight head ache to death."

  
Tarilenea grimaced, rubbing her head. "I think I know who sent it. But why did it not kill me?"

  
Lady Alden furrowed her brows and looked at Tarilenea quizzically. 

  
"Why, I thought you would know. A normal person would have died from that spell. You must be a strong sorcerer, or you would not have survived that. You do know that you have some sort of Gift, right?"

  
Tarilenea nodded. "But I did not know I was strong enough to survive a spell like that. I have the gift of Sense," she explained, "so I know I have a bit of power. But I had no idea that I had enough power to fend off a Releasing Spell."

  
Lady Alden looked shocked. "You have the gift of Senses? That is a very rare and valuable gift. You are in training, aren't you?"

  
Tarilenea shook her head guiltily. "I am traveling to Corus for that purpose. I have never been trained at all, and I want to become a sorcerer to defend King Alan's empire."

  
Lady Alden turned to Nanny. 

  
"Would you mind getting us some strawberry drinks and--" she looked at Tarilenea's empty plate-- "some more scones, please. And some meat as well," she called after Nanny's retreating back. She turned gravely back to Tarilenea.

  
"This is a very serious issue. The gift of Sense is not a gift to be treated lightly. It can spin out of control at any time and affect the person who has it, or it can hurt someone else."

  
"How can it hurt someone else? I understand how it can hurt me because when I can't control it every sense starts paining me, but how could it harm anyone else?"

  
Lady Alden seemed confused. 

  
"Did you not know that a certain amount of power comes with the gift of Sense?" At Tarilenea's shocked face she continued.

  
"You have magic other than the gift of Sense. You can make small spells or block large ones; if you used this ability more often it would develop. If your gift is out of control, then you might accidentally do something bad. For example, one of my earlier students meant to light a candle and set my hair on fire."

  
Tarilenea winced. "Ouch."

  
Lady Alden nodded, smiling. "You must train. Will you stay here so that I can teach you?"

  
Tarilenea bit her lip, shaking her head. 

  
"I am sorry, but I told my parents that I would travel to Corus in order to find a teacher. Also, one of my friends was kidnapped by a band of men who I must find. I need to rescue him, and I would rather die attempting rescue than live not having tried."

  
Lady Alden frowned, her thin brows coming together. 

  
"I will not let you go try to rescue your friend. It is too dangerous."

  
Tarilenea, indignant, was about to respond angrily when Lady Alden grinned, showing pearly white teeth.   
"I will go with you." 

  
Tarilenea looked up, her mouth open.

  
"You _will?_" she choked out. "But--your school--"

  
Lady Alden accepted the tray of scones Nanny brought into the room gratefully, handing one to Tarilenea. They were hot and moist, and Tarilenea immediately took a large bite.

  
"I will come with you, "continued Lady Alden. "You, an untrained magician with wild magic and no fighting capabilities, has no chance against a group of grown men, one of whom is a sorcerer. Besides, I have always wanted to teach in Corus, and I have an assistant who can take over the school here. I think it would be a great adventure. I will take some of my most valued students with me, and we can begin a school in Corus!" 

  
A happy smile took over her face while Tarilenea munched on her scone.

  
"Sounds great," said Tarilenea through a mouthful. "When do we leave, then?"

  
**********************

  
Tarilenea and Lady Alden left the next morning with five other pupils who Lady Alden said were her best. They included Saranna, Baara, Kalama, Raizel, and Dravdid. Saranna was a large girl with bright brown eyes and wispy blonde hair who always seemed to be smiling. Her special talent was her ability to work with animals. Baara was a surly, small red-haired girl of about thirteen years. She worked with flame, Lady Alden told Tarilenea, but had problems with keeping it under control. 

Kalama had chocolate-brown skin and deep brown eyes. Her hair was kept in cornrows trailing in long waves down her back, causing many eyes to follow her through the streets. Her talent was with plants, and the weather. So far her magic was fairly undeveloped, but she could already partly stop the rain and create snow from rain. Raizel was olive-toned, with hazel eyes and rather frizzy dark brown hair. Her large, solemn eyes made people think that she was serious, which she was most certainly not. She was always the first in the group to crack a joke, or smile at one. Her gift was in healing people. 

The final student was Dravdid, a very small eight-year old boy. Tarilenea had at first been surprised to see such a youngster, but Lady Alden had explained that Dravdid was a special case; his parents had died in a fire when he was young, and she had rescued him from the streets when she saw him Seeing the future. Lady Alden thought that he might have other talents as well, but she had yet to find them out as the boy was still traumatized by his death ordeal. Dravdid at first seemed very shy and small, but when Tarilenea looked into his face his eyes took over and she found herself dropping into them.

  
She felt a tap on her shoulder, and looked up. Lady Alden was looking at her with smiling eyes. 

  
"I forgot to tell you--Dravdid also has a wonderful ability to make people trust him."

  
At Tarilenea's surprised look, she continued--"he can meet anybody on the streets, look at them, and convince them to do almost anything." She chuckled. "Fortunately, he does not use this talent for bad purposes. But you will see, he will get us out of many a bad situation with those awesome eyes of his. Just don't look too much or you might get lost." 

  
She smiled softly at Tarilenea and nudged her horse away. Tarilenea looked around. Saranna and Kalama were natural friends, and they made a nice pair. At the moment, Saranna was showing Kalama how to reign in her horse properly without hurting it, and Kalama was watching carefully. Baara was, as usual, sulking off in a distant part of the group, almost at the back. Everything about her was red, from her eyebrows and long lashes to the bush of fire she had on her head. Even her freckles looked dark to Tarilenea. Raizel was very quiet, and busy healing a scrape on the neck of her horse. She was riding alongside Dravdid. It seemed that the two had taken a liking to each other, and Raizel was very protective of the boy. She had been the one who had cured most of his burns when he had come from the streets.

  
Dravdid, his floppy black hair falling into his eyes, pointed a grubby arm to the right, at the town square. 

  
"Look," he breathed softly. 

  
The small company all looked up obediently, and a small collective gasp went up.

  
"That wasn't there before," said Kamala indignantly. "Where did that come from?"

  
In the center of the square was a maze, green and tall. Its soft leaves were coated in the afternoon sunlight, making it seem like a fire-bush. Baara's eyes glimmered slightly. 

  
"Let's go in," she said with a thick accent. "I want to see what is inside."

  
At the entrance to the maze was a sign—

  
_ Test Your Memory and Sense of Direction--Only 5 Nobles!_

_  
_Lady Alden looked around at her pupils. All of them stared at her with uncertain looks except for Tarilenea , whose lips were pursed and eyebrows drawn down. She did not like the way the maze had popped up just when Nigel had. She also felt uneasy, like there was something wrong. She couldn't place it, but she could feel something in the bottom of her stomach which was warning her not to go farther. She also felt a slight tug, making her want to step into the maze. This feeling she did not like at all. She raised her eyebrows at Lady Alden, intending to signify that she did not want to go in. This was instead mistaken as a glance of uncertainty, and Lady Alden clapped her hands happily.

  
"Let's go then! But stay together--I don't want anyone getting lost!" 

  
Tarilenea was behind all the other horses as they clopped slowly towards the maze. They each paid their five nobles to a box at the entrance to the maze, and Tarilenea was about to follow the other six horses in when she remembered her Pendant of Defense which was hanging around her neck. She fished it out of her many layers and held it up to her good eye.

  
She gasped. The entire maze was a blaze of yellow. Every single leaf was gold, and even the air enveloping the maze was tinged with bright yellow. Closing her eyes tightly, she felt for the magic surrounding the maze. Finding it, she discovered that it was a Silencing Spell, tinged with a slight Summoning Spell which could almost not be felt.  
Tarilenea dropped the Pendant and shouted loudly, "Lady Alden! Come back!"

  
There was no answer. A few townspeople looked at her oddly as they bustled by, but other than the normal sounds of a city at work Tarilenea heard nothing. Only a deep, perpetrating silence sounded from the maze. She closed her eyes and winced, toning her hearing to its full capabilities. She held Moonshine's mane hard, for the sounds of the town around her were shattering. She could hear every footstep, every breath, every cough, every word spoken within fifty feet. She closed out these sounds slowly, one by one. Soon all that was left in her ears was the silence. But even this did not seem natural. She decided to try a trick she had discovered a while back. 

  
Tarilenea reached down into herself, into her source of magic. It was bright blue, and overflowing in the darkness of her inner-self. She grasped it with one hand, and swimming back to the top, grabbed the Silencing Spell with the other. She forced the two strains of magic together, bonding them as they fizzled and tried to back away. The effect was astonishing. Suddenly, she could hear all of the sounds in the maze as clearly as if she were standing right next to them.

  
Lady Alden's voice echoed through her mind.

  
"Let go of me! Where did you take Dravdid and the others?"

  
"That is none of your concern," Nigel's voice said. "We will do what we want with all of you. For the moment, you will stay in this room with the other captured sorcerers."

  
Tarilenea heard weeping, and the muffled sounds of bodies crunched tightly together. Listening carefully and tuning Lady Alden out, she heard Dravdid whisper, _"Tarry? Tarry where are you?"_

_  
_Tarilenea was too involved in what he was saying to realize that he was saying this _in her mind._ She whispered back silently, not expecting him to hear.

  
"_I am with you, Dravdid. Have no fear, I will find you."_

_  
_To her great surprise, Dravdid's voice spoke again within her mind. Shocked, she realized that he must have her power of mind-to-mind communication. 

_  
"I'm scared, Tarry. I'm cold. And they took Lady Alden away somewhere, I don't know where she is."_

_  
"Is she still in the maze, Dravdid? Is she still in the maze?"_

_  
"I don't know."_

_  
"Don't tell anyone you speak with me, or they might hurt you. Is everyone else all right?"_

_  
"Yes. Saranna and Kamala and Raizel are sitting next to me, and Baara is trying to make fire so we can be warmer."_

_  
"Did the big man say why he captured you?"_

_  
"He said that his master needs magic people, and he is taking us to his master so that we can help fight. I don't want to go, Tarry!"_

_  
_Tarilenea tried to calm the little one down.

  
_"Do not fret, Dravdid. I will get you out of this. I will find you and when I do, I will make the bad guys go away."_

_  
_She could almost feel Dravdid smile.

  
_"Ok. I am going to sleep now, I am tired."_

_  
"All right. Wait--" _Tarilenea realized with a start that they might be putting a sleeping gas over her friends, and tried frantically to keep in touch with his mind. But it was of no use. He slipped away from her slowly, into a deep sleep. She would have to try later. 

  
Turning her attention back to Nigel and Lady Alden, she heard Nigel comment softly to someone,

  
"She is asleep. Good work, Sebastien. Your Sleeping Spell is very nice."

  
"Thank you, m'lord," said a high nasal voice.

  
Nigel continued. "Carry her back to the others. We can get nothing out of her now, we will have to let Deleterious deal with her." He chuckled unpleasantly, and Tarilenea could hear heavy footsteps walking away.

  
Tarilenea opened her eyes, to see little blurry spots all over her vision. This was what happened when she overspent her magic. She had to get out of sight; Nigel might come out at any moment.

  
She lead Moonshine over to a small alley between a bookshop and a bakery. She pulled her cloak tight around herself to keep out the cold. With a quiet sigh, she lay down on Moonshine's back and resolved to keep a vigil on the maze.

A/N:  **gasp** what happens next?  Review if you want to know lol


End file.
